capriman

And as if by magic, a week later it’s resolved itself. Dash all working correctly and power steering light staying extinguished.

Hi guys, an update on this issue and some more help required please….. after the advice about the immobiliser I decided not to chance my luck putting in another cluster and having to pay to have it coded up as the issue was minor and an irritation rather than anything else. Anyway, as seems often the case with fabia electrics it just sorted itself out and went away! Roll forward a few months to now and I have more issues that must surely be linked. a bit about the car and other issues first as they might just be linked so I’d rather give more information and it be superfluous than neglect to mention something that might help…… I bought the car and it stood unused for a year. On coming to use it the n/s windows wouldn’t work, an issue that just sorted itself out intermittently then permanently over time. Also an alternator issue was sorted with a new alternator but to this day the exciter wire isn’t working so I just have to remember to give it a little Rev at the start of each journey to make sure the alternator is kicked into life. The power steering light has periodically failed to extinguish on start up but turning off the ignition and restarting always sorted it. Recently I changed lots of suspension components and a wheel bearing resulting in one broken ABS sensor….. I’ve got a new one but so busy with work I’ve not had chance to fit it but since then the power steering light would only extinguish if I turned the ignition on then waited for all the warning lights to go out before starting the car. It’s now struggling to extinguish at all and my trip when the ignition is on shows 0000 with the first zero flashing and with the ignition off, the clock is whizzing along, counting up a minute every half a second or so. Any clues? thanks in advance.

Hi guys, I had an issue with the aux belt tensioner failing repeatedly. Only thing that cured it was changing the alternator so can only assume it was periodically jamming and causing enough instant tension to snap the tensioner. Anyway, with that resolved I now have another issue. The new alternator won’t charge until I rev it to 2500rpm. Once I’ve revved it, that’s it it’s charging until I turn the engine off. I’ve a cigarette lighter phone charger that shows the voltage. It circa 12.9v until I rev it then it’s around 14v. The alternator is a recon and I had no such issues previously so I’ve been nagging the reconditioners to replace it but tonight I did some googling and I’m now wondering if there may be another issue here so looking for advice/help. i just popped the key in the ignition and noted I have no battery light! I’d never even noticed this. I read up about the alternator needing to get excited to kick in and the wire that does this also gives the dash battery light..... is that correct, and if so what colour wire is it? thanks in advance. oh, if anyone reading this, remember my issues with the passenger side window and mirrors adjuster..... well it just started being less of a problem then fixed itself of its own accord. Also the dash not clearing the inspection messages or letting me zero the trip or change the clock, that became less of an issue then cured itself too! #fabiagremlins

We are just talking about the instruments behind the steering wheel yes? I recall the issue before was a failed speedo. I just got another set of clocks and changed them. Adjusted the odometer with VAG401 so they were correct and all was fine.

Are you sure as I’ve done this before with no issues. Well, I say no issues, I wasnt aware of any as the car still started and ran ok and everything appeared to work ok.

Thanks guys, I’ll pick up a cluster from the local scrappy.

Just noticed tonight that turning the ignition off, reveals the trip which reads zero miles even after a journey.

Hi guys, ive both the oil and insp messages on my dash (2003 SDI comfort estate) and they refuse to reset using the conventional methods. The oil service appears to reset giving a line of dashes using the usual method but then the insp will not set and the oil one reappears. I’ve even used the VAG401 to reset it (it resets it thinking the car is a polo) and the dash clears the oil sign and the trip is displayed (at zero) instead but as soon as I turn off the ignition and turn it back on the oil and insp messages are back. They also never stop displaying while driving which is not usual either. any help?

Thanks for the reply. I came to a similar conclusion so bought a recon alternator with a new clutched pulley, new belt and tensioner. Touch wood it seems ok although I still think there’s too much constant oscillating of the tensioner. There’s also an awful rattle from ‘somewhere down there’ that starts when it’s not been running for a couple of hours a second or two after the engine starts and then vanishes about 6 or 7 seconds later. Engine generally runs well with no other concerning noises so I’m wondering if the air on pump might be at fault too. baffling to be fair.

That’s the previous one. The damage on the lug on the first pic I think was done by a following car running over it.

Hi guys, I’ve a 2003 SDI comfort estate with air conditioning and the auxiliary belt tensioner snapped the other day. I’ve replaced it and less than a couple of hundred miles, the new one has snapped too. I’ve checked the air on pulley and alternator pulley and both are spinning freely. Sounds like a very momentary squeal from the belt before a bang and the tensioner rattles off under the car. I had an issue with this type of tensioner before and it was periodically breaking the securing bolt but this was traced to the overrun pulley on the altenator not working and the vibration over time was breaking the bolts but this looks different and seems to involve force and quite quickly. any clues?

Sorry it’s a 53 plate SDI COMFORT ESTATE.

Hi guys, it’s been a while since I’ve had the need to be here (thankfully) but find myself in need of some help. my passenger side window and electric mirror have stopped working (although occasionally out of the blue they will work for a while). Symptoms are that both stop functioning simultaneously but the mirrors heating still works. By placing the key in the door and holding the key in the unlock position the window still fails to operate. The light on the passenger switch also does not illuminate when it’s not working. I’ve had a google and a read up on here and the most likely Scenario seems a break in the door hinge rubber. Whilst I’m a very competent mechanic, electrics go way over my head and have no idea what I’m doing with wiring diagrams. I was wondering if someone had any idea which colour wire may be at fault as I’m guessing that rubber boot has lots inside? Any other suggestions more than welcome. thanks phil

Fabia mark one SDI doesn’t have a switch. I don’t mind the light showing while the fuse is pulled but once I’ve replaced it I’d need to reset the light.

I recall this happening to me in my first SDI. Turned out those 3 bolts on the pump vernier had slipped. It DID show a code on a laptop which gave me a clue as to where to look. it didn’t take much movement to restore everything back to normal. Use something sharp to scratch an arc around the head of one of the bolts so you know where they are now then have a play. You won’t kill it by changing the injection timing, it will either run better or run like a bag of spanner’s!

Hi guys, I’ve w long journey to make with my little one so I’d prefer her next to me in the baby seat on the passenger seat. I want to pull the fuse for the journey and replace it afterwards, is that possible? I have a small vagtool handheld fault code reader, will this be adequate to turn the airbag light off once I replace the fuse? thanks in advance

Hi guys, The bolt holding the auxiliary belt tensioner snapped yesterday and I need a replacement but not sure what particular size and grade I’m looking for. its an sdi with air conditioning so has the tensioner like a large cotton reel that goes into a hole behind the alternator and is secured by a single bolt that secures it from behind. thanks.

Thanks for that wino. I'll let you know for sure if i end up that route. An update for anyone interested. One of the caliper bolts was barely holding on the near side due to many brake changes over its long life so I had already decided to get a hub and go from there. The local scrappy did me the hub assembly for £30 and as luck would have it the bearing felt reassuring firm but smooth to turn so I was hopeful it was good. Taking the old hub off it was clear the bearing was shafted, it was very tight and graunchy to turn. It was all changed and put back together relatively painlessly. The gearbox took almost a litre of oil in through the reverse switch hole. Upshot is I now have a pretty quiet car again! Sounds like theres a bit of wheel bearing noise from the off side but nothing serious and i'll change that one soon enough. Thanks for the help and support guys!

I had heard the boxes were a weak point and im surprised its not given me trouble before. I drive the darn thing more like a VRS than an SDI too! Having said that, a huge swathe of my mileage is long distance motorway work, so nice warm gearbox and in relative terms not too much stress. Any ideas the kind of extra life a set of diff bearings would give the box and at what sort of cost?

Agreed. Checking it will rule it out of the equation. To be fair i think its a wheel bearing (or both) with a bit of old aged diff whine thrown into the medley just to keep me entertained on long drives. At 250k its getting old now and once the winter is over or the right car pops up itll be time for a new one i think.

These have done about 50k. Whats the mileage on your box and whats it gonna cost me?

Thanks. I usually buy MOOG bearings. Happy to take suggestions of other brands though.... I've a sneaky feeling the noise isn't all bearing either..... i've noticed a bit of gearbox oil on the bottom of the box and to my knowledge the oil has never been changed in its 250k mile history....something thats easily overlooked but from reading on this forum earlier, should have been done. The plan is sort the bearings and give it a gearbox oil change and see where i'm at.

Well my car is making some rather horrid whirring and droning noises from the front again. Its had wheel bearings but i do a LOT of mileage and I guess they need doing again. A local garage are wanting to charge me £40 per side just to press and repress the bearing if i take the hub and bearing to them. I thought that was a bit steep so i'm considering one of these but not sure if they are any good. Has anyone got one or used one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/72mm-Front-Wheel-Bearing-Removal-Tools-Kit-For-Audi-A1-A2-Seat-Ibiza-Skoda-Fabia/382213839073?epid=2214248806&hash=item58fdb858e1:g:PzcAAOSwZElZpnhJ

Thanks everyone for their help. I managed to get a bracket from the local scrappy today for a tenner so all sorted!

Thanks, I will compare the threads before I attempt to thread it in. I was told it was a metric fine thread and I do recall it looking like rather a fine thread when I took it out. Can't go wrong if I actually check one against the other